The hit video game series Diablo turns 15 this week, which is pretty good for a game that’s still being sold on store shelves. You know you’re old when… The Diablo franchise is an interesting thing. Based on the abusive text-only dungeon crawlers like NetHack, the original Diablo made the form accessible by adding impressive graphics, sounds, music, and a coherent plot set in a proper world. Diablo 2 refined the formula by smoothing away the defining traits of the old school, like permanent stat loss and cursed items, while adding a stronger multiplayer game. Also, by this point, Blizzard realized people on the internet might hack their games. As for Diablo 3, well. Only time will tell if the next installment of the series is another refinement, or a destruction, of one of gaming’s longest living legacies. Battle.net has the story.
The original Diablo was hilariously broken. Not that it didn’t work, but that it was too easy for hackers to make it work for them. Oh, and friendly fire was on, even in casual multiplayer. Nothing like getting ganked by a flying, flaming chicken that explodes hard enough to kill everything on the screen.